Volume One, Chapter 53: What He Desired Was Her Heart

Shen Zhaowu wondered if she had misheard.
But there was nothing of value on her; even if Zhou Jingdu wanted something from her, he would only end up disappointed.
Thinking this way, Shen Zhaowu stopped overthinking it.
She picked up the utensils from the insulated lunchbox and, right under Zhou Jingdu’s gaze, began to enjoy her lunch with a calm ease.
Except for the black-bone chicken soup.
And the signature golden-thread fish fillet made by Old Fei.
It was the very dish that Jiang Yao had ordered at Ten Miles of Southern River, only to be embarrassed.
Shen Zhaowu had always heard that the crown prince of the capital, Zhou Jingdu, indulged in only the finest things, living a life of utter extravagance, and now she could see that was no exaggeration.
This fish fillet was no ordinary fare, either.
It was an exceedingly rare import from abroad...
“Yes,” the branches and leaves of the sacred tree trembled, making a rustling sound.
“It’s obvious that guy got in through the back door. When I checked the training roster back then, his name wasn’t on it,” said a girl behind her.
Li Xiuyuan beckoned to the firefighter and then gestured that he wanted to give it a try. The firefighter hesitated briefly, then nodded his approval.
He gently raised his hand, gray and chaotic lines winding around him, forming an almost impenetrable shield.
As much as she liked Zhang Chen, after the trip to Baihe Village, Lin Yueru realized that they probably could not end up together.
After shouting, Bolei’s expression changed several times before he lowered his head. Zhou Suyan opened her mouth but said nothing, while Wang Luo watched Bolei with great interest.
After he succeeded in forging the flying sword and defeated Dracula II, he had attracted the attention of the world’s strongest, and he himself was feeling a bit heady.

“There’s more than just a cabbage in the box, right? What else was there?” Nora walked over to check the empty crate, then turned back and asked.
However, the goal of this group was different from those lecherous onlookers; though they, too, took a few appreciative glances, they had more pressing matters at hand.
But at that moment, the tremors grew stronger, the ground cracked open, and many graves, along with scattered bones, tumbled into the fissures.
Luckily, Big Mouth Jiu’s luck hadn’t run out; Ye Mo had no intention of reprimanding him, just waved him aside so he could take the seat himself.
Madam Xie the Third had no idea what scheme she was brewing, only assumed it was a clever retreat to advance.
He browsed for a bit and, sure enough, found the option that aggregated all the guild trading resources on the server—potions for sale, equipment, materials, and so on, an endless list.
“What’s the point of teaching them? We didn’t even get anything good out of it!” Pei Qian grumbled discontentedly. Even if you wanted to win people over, you didn’t have to hand over a whole business; that was how they had scraped by when they had no money.
Liu Yifei was brought up—the wounds on his body had all been treated, and someone had even found a sauna suit for him to change into.
“Put it away and wear it when you come of age!” Pei Qian was very pleased with the jade hairpin Shen Songming had gifted.
Tian Qi walked quickly, trying his best to look rushed—though in truth, he really was anxious and didn’t need to feign it.
“Nothing much, just came over to take a look,” Guo Xiaqing giggled. She now managed quite a few people, and after overcoming her initial discomfort, she was brimming with enthusiasm for her job. As luck would have it, the receptionist was off today, so she filled in as needed.
“Mr. Guo, Mr. Black Tiger, let’s do it—make it quick!” Zhang Zhijing was losing patience; time was not on their side, and the longer they delayed, the greater the danger.
Old Wu sat with his eyes closed as if asleep. Guo Kejing’s facial muscles twitched twice; he had not expected Xun Yu to suddenly leap into action.
“No need to call, I’m here.” In the blink of an eye, a juvenile white wolf appeared before them, startling Yezi.
Ye Jingfeng, resting his chin on his hand, cursed with a smile, knowing Lin Peng was just bantering with him.
For a full hour, the Dragon-Leopard King had been casting spells, transforming the invincible Hanlong’s soldiers into beast-men, stripping them of reason and making them follow his orders, weapons in hand, attacking Hanlong.
As a chess player, Reika Hojo was unlike the impression Gan Tian had of her—not as focused as Tan Fang, nor as serene as Kiria, but determined to win at any cost.

This Dragon-Tiger Fiend Lord was extraordinary, skilled in both divination and calculation. When he realized the Earth God was the informant, he feigned ignorance, allowing the Earth God to deliberately leak information outside the city, then set an ambush within the city walls.
He still didn’t realize that Xue Qi’s plan was to make him pay for the materials himself. In his mind, gifts from elders were never taken back, and although Xue Qi was not particularly friendly, Guluo’s mindset hadn’t shifted yet.
“I say, why are you so nervous?” Dean laughed at the flustered Zhan Silamo.
High above the horizon, the mask of Chao Fengyang changed expression. Suddenly, roaring flames rose like walls of fire, swirling for dozens of miles, blanketing the entire world and forming a prison that trapped everyone inside.
Lang Zhan told Quiana to stop fooling around. In fact, after all the commotion, Quiana was now wide awake.
“We just thought that since the Medicine King’s Cauldron is said to appear in the Bloody Purgatory this time, if we don’t leave the mansion now, no one will know what happens!” Gu Yuxi said honestly.
Finally able to rest for a day, Xu Qingshen went home to spend some time with the children. Jiang Yuanzhou entered the house and picked up Ruirui, who was playing at his feet.
For him, such an outcome meant the end of his career—the position of chief steward would no longer be his. Moreover, ten elite brothers from his family had perished, all painstakingly trained at great expense, now destroyed by his own hand.
Since the Xia family had no other relatives, only Xia Fangyuan, Gong Shaoxie, and the old butler came by.
“Do you know who the thief is?” Shaohua truly did not wish to get involved, but since her father’s belongings were at stake, she guessed that was what the thief was after.
Xia Fangyuan gave a faint smile and nodded, “I’ll wait for you.” Yet she wasn’t sure if she could really wait that long.
“I’m leaving now. Rest well,” Gong Shaoxie whispered in Xia Fangyuan’s ear, then turned and left the room.
Though Britney knew Li Fei was highly skilled, firearms were still deadly weapons, and she feared that even a youth from China could not withstand them.